Nuremberg, Germany – a lot of history and museums especially on Nazis and their eventual court sentencing

So Nuremberg (known in Germany as Nürnberg) is a great place for history-buffs for to see especially if you are interested in World War II stuff – the events that took place before and after such as the Nazis rise to power and their eventual fateful day in court to where they were finally tried and sentenced in the famous Nuremberg Trials.

They do have a football team here: FC Nürnberg which has bounced around between 1st and 2nd Bundesliga in recent years. I did not go to the game as they were in 2nd league at that time and I wasn’t sure if the team was on the upwards rise but there is a lot to see in this city not just with Nazis and World War II before/after. There is more to it than just all that.

So the first stop for me was the Toy Museum. Why not be a kid again?

Who would have imagined having a huge cupboard full of toys like this?

I’m amazed at the level of detail the creator or creators put into this thing. It’s more of an art display than a toy if you ask me. I think it’s a great model of a typical German town with its architecture.

When I was a kid, I always wanted a big train set like this but never got one. Well, it’s probably too technical if you ask me on how to operate a huge train set like this one.

I have never seen a Swastika in Germany except in museums. This particular toy set was shown in this museum because of its importance as a former Nazi Rallying Ground City which were held annually.

Nuremburg also has a Transport Museum but most of the stuff in there is dedicated to trains. It does have something interesting pieces that you normally don’t see in there… I think it’s worth having a look if you like trains!

Different types of train cars that used to exist in reality but are all probably in the scrap heap. All we now have models of them.

Some beer steins featuring trains. These types of beer steins are probably hard to find and fetch a lot of money on the open market.

When Bavaria was its own country, it had its own king as well. King Ludwig II had this personal train carriage car to ride around in as he traveled to place to place.

What kind of transport museum would not be complete without a train model kit?

And what museum with trains would not be complete without a full blast train set with lights and controls? Man, it was the biggest one that I’ve ever seen. Any train model hobbyist would be happy to see this.

Walking around the city can produce some great views particularly during the winter with the snow on the ground.

The city of Nuremberg was heavily damaged during World War II but has since been rebuilt. The building in the left of this picture used to be Albrecht Durer’s house. Durer was a famous woodcut print engraver and painter during the late 1400s, early 1500s.

One of the high points of Nuremberg, you can see above the city which explains why they choose that spot to build a castle.

A great view of the city and I think it looks better with the winter snow. Less tourists too.

It’s a biggggg medieval cathedral that just stands out and punches you in the eyes!

Next stop was the Nazi Rally Grounds. This is a place where Nazi Party leaders would have their big rallies to instill morale and excitement. Think of it as a motivating booster during a harsh time of coming out of the defeat of World War I and the effects of the Great Depression. Hitler used to give speeches in this huge auditorium or stadium. I always imagine that it was more like in the Indiana Jones movie where Indy runs into Hitler by accident after Hitler gives his speech and Hitler gives Indy his autograph in Indy’s book. Instead, this stadium is just huge. All meant for rallying the troops and the people in preparation for war. All propaganda events which attracted a lot of attention and showed what kind of war machine Winston Churchill had to deal with when the UK was all alone when the French fell during World War II.

So the Nazi Rally Grounds also known as the Reichsparteigelande is a museum now. It has a bunch of Nazi propaganda and other tidbits from that era.

Some 200,000+ people would come to this arena to watch the rallies occur. They were big back then to watch Hitler and other Nazi party members speak and of course watch the German military march in and out like a parade.

Time has not been good to this place. Like the concentration camps that were kept for preservation for future generations, nature is slowly crumbling these places slowly but surely.

And ultimately, the Nazis had their downfall which culminated in the leadership’s capture and trial. Typically, the losing country’s leadership does not go into court but after what happened and what was found in the concentration camps such as in Auschwitz and Dachau, the victor nations could not turn their face away from the millions of deaths and imprisoned in such deplorable conditions. Some of these decisions were made at the Eagle’s Nest. So why did the Allies decide to conduct the trial in Nuremberg? One, it was the site of the Rallies, Hitler’s eventual forcing the German government to strip all Jews and non-Aryans of their German citizenship, and was also one of the German military headquarters that was also a weapons and equipment producer during World War II. So for some people, the start location was also the end location for the Nazi propaganda and crimes against humanity.

This is courtroom 600 where the Nuremberg Trials occurred. The site has changed quite a bit since the trials back in the 1940s. This is because the courtroom is still an active courtroom and real court cases are tried there. It’s best to come on a weekend when court is not in session so you can see it. There is a lot to read about so it’s a good idea to brush up on the history of this place so you know it background and historical importance.

I don’t normally do this but I took a picture of a picture. I did this to show what it looked like back then compared to what it looks like now.

Another view of what courtroom 600 looked like during the Nuremberg Trials. There were a lot of people in there: British, Americans, French, Russians, and Germans due to the participants of the trial.

Nuremberg is a history buff’s dream especially when it comes to World War II.